#rp24 speaker Esra Karakaya: More media justice for all!

Award-winning journalist Esra Karakaya is passionate about media justice and the production of accessible news for marginalised communities - as there is an imbalance in this regard: while only six per cent of editors-in-chief in German media have a migration background – predominantly from the EU – this applies to a third of the total population. So who decides what quality journalism is when BIPoC media professionals are underrepresented in key positions? Who sets the topics and decides which perspectives have a voice? How can the media reflect the diversity of viewpoints in our society?

Clearly, we need more diversity not only in front of the cameras, but also behind them – and in positions where decisions are taken! Esra Karakaya was the first visibly Muslim presenter in Germany. The video journalist launched her own online talk show, BlackRockTalk, in 2017. As founder, producer and moderator, she is committed to authenticity and the freedom of opinion and interpretation for all – her topics and studio guests are correspondingly diverse.

Ezra's media company KARAKAYA TALKS, which produces news and talk shows for millennials and Gen Zs of colour, is an example of how media production can be transformed in the interests of social justice. Because in order to inform the public in a balanced way, independent and community-orientated journalism is needed, as well as more accessibility and new ways of understanding and redistributing the power of the media. 

In 2020, Esra Karakaya was honoured by Zeit Campus Verlag as one of the 30 people under 30 who are transforming Germany. In 2021, she received the Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Prize for Democracy. KARAKAYA TALKS won the Grimme Online Award in the Culture and Entertainment category in 2020 and received the "Der lange Atem" award by the German Journalists' Association in 2023.

At #rp24, we look forward to Esra's exciting input and inspiring discussions on the topic of media justice.

#WhoCares: Ein Interview mit Esra Karakaya.

Das Motto der re:publica 24 lautet „Who Cares?“. Um wen oder was kümmerst du dich gerade?

Um mein Baby KARAKAYA TALKS, she's in her puberty lol

Worum kümmern wir uns zu wenig als Gesellschaft? 

Weiß man denn, worum man sich zu wenig kümmert, wenn man es gar nicht erst tut? 🤔 #UnoReverseCard

Gibt es eine Person, Bewegung oder Institution, die dich beeindruckt, da sie sich für etwas besonders einsetzt? Oder hat dich ein Buch, ein Artikel oder Podcast inspiriert?

Ouassima Laabich und ihr Projekt Muslim Futures. Diese Frau ist einfach anders. Eine Schwester im Islam, die mich inspiriert jenseits des Jetzt zu träumen, widerständig zu bleiben und gleichzeitig dabei unendliches Licht im Herzen zu kultivieren.

Worüber möchtest du auf der re:publica sprechen?

Wie eine mediengerechte Medienlandschaft aussieht, die tatsächlich Communities erreicht und nicht nur über sie berichtet.